Ice-making machine.



' 4 v PATENTBD JAN. '7, 1908. N0 :15 015 T H. RAY.

ICE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 1, 1007.

2 SHEETS- 3113.8! 1.

THOMAS H. RAY, OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS Specification of LettersPatent.

ICE-MAKING MACHINE Patented Jan. '7, 1908.

Application filed March 1. 1907. Serial No. 360,027.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS H. RAY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Somervllle, in the county of Middlesex and'State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements Relatinto Ice- Making Machines, of which the fol owing is a s ecifieation,reference being had therein tot e accompanying drawing.

Where artificial ice is made from spring water, which has not beendistilled, the water ISCODS'tQ-Dl'l) agitated, so that the ice formedwill be clear and when formed. either one of two, methods is employedfor haring ' tically.

vesting it, that'is, for cutting it up into cakes of proper size foruse. One method is known as the plate method, and may be said to consistof the following general operations. The ice is frozen in one longpiece,

detached from the surface upon which it is frozen, lifted in one pieceout of the water, by suitable hoisting apparatus, placed upon a.perfectly smooth table. and there. by means of saws cutup into cakes ofthe desired shape and size. Necessarily the hoistand conveying apparatushas to be of great strength; the table upon which it rests. to be cutup, must be perfectly level, and must touch and support the large pieceof ice at all points, otherxtise the great weight of the ice w ill causethe ice to Lltlili and break as chance dictates. Fllltlltl the operationof sawing requires a. long time, and uses p much power. 'lhc othermethod. "block method", may he said to l'(:l(ll in means for cutting upthe long pict'c of i;c while it is in the water, and is frozen to thecooling surface. lit-e a utting device usually employed is mounted uponwheels .'l crcl; v it may be moved lcngthw ise of the piece, ray fromend to end. it consists of a hollow metal ant-ting member mounted tomove ver- Steam, by suitable pipe tonne; tions, passes through thismember, beats it, and by reason of its on n weight moves don n- ,w'ardthrough the ice, melting and (utting the piece into the shape desired.

[ separated from its adjacent than. is the l object of my bottom of thenext block from the ice on the metallic freezing surfaces, and also sothat the one side of the next block can be out by an end member when thecutting device decends. Obviously this is a very slow method ofharvesting a big piece of ice. Live steam is required for the blade thecold water, in which the ice is, absorbs great'qua-ntities of heat; thewarm water remains at the top of the tank, and melts that portion of theice into such form, that for the sake of appearances of the resultingblocks, the melted portions have to be cut oil and thrown away; andfurther, before the water can be frozen during the next operation offreezin the freezing liquid, as ammonia, or brine, ms to remove thisheat derived from the steam, before ice can be caused to form. In short,before the block ice is ready for use, there has been a loss in steam,ice, and cooling capacity in the freezing liquid.

Now one of the princi a1 objects of my invention is to overcome t 1edillic-ulties arising in harvesting ice by methods heretofore known,especially that used in the block system; and I accomplish this objectby the use of metallic freezing surfaces for theformation of the ice, soarranged that what, if made under the old block system, would be a longsingle piece of ice to be cut into blocks, by a cutting device, isformed into a series of blocks of the desired size; each block beingblock by a removable metallic freezing surface. These freezing surfacesare provided with means whereby they may be subjected. to a temperatureabove the freezing point, so that the ice will become detached from thefreezing surfaces; and the removable surfaces may be removed frombetween the blocks; the latter are at once freed, and ready to be raisedout of the water, and removed. in line, instead. of using, asheretofore, for exzunple, a slow cutter ,cmploying steam, and fatheringall the above objections. the blocks are frozen in the desired shape andsize, the freezing surfaces are heated above freezing point, and themetallic, block separating surfaces are lifted up and away, as by hand,a quick and easy operation, and the blocks are ready for delivery.

llaving described in a general manner the invention, and the way Iattain it, I will now show and describe the particular apparatusemployed by me in carrying out the principle of my lll\'011t1011, itlltlobside of each coil.

surfaces, and the water to be frozen.

tain also other objects which will be made plain hereinafter.

Figure l is a perspective view showing my invention embodied inapparatus for making and harvesting artificial ice. Fig. 2 is a planshowing particularly, the piping connections, and incidentally the tankand freezing surfaces. Fig. 3is are elevation of the iping connections,a portion of the side of the- The drawings illustrate the'best mode ofembodying my invention, now known to me.

A tank 1 is provided to contain ice forming It is made of any suitablematerial, as wood. Cooling coils 2, 3, 4, 5, are arranged length Wise ofthe tank; coils 2 and 5 are adjacent to the sides of the tank and. havelongitudi. nal cooling surfaces 6, 7, respectively, while coils 3, 4,occupying. the middle portion of the tank, have two longitudinal coolingsurfaces, or plates, 8, 9 and 1O, 11, respectively, that is, one coolingsurfaceor plate on each Each coil stands in a vertical plane, and isheld so, as by a long wooden member 12, Fig. 4, and two iron coolingsurfaces as 8, 9, which inclose the coil, as 3,

and are secured together in the manner shown in F 1g. 4. Thc1r bottomedges rest upon the floor oi the tank, and by means ot sup porting .pins13, in the plates 8, 9, the cooling coils 3 are sustained between and incontact with the cooling plates 8, 9. Engaging the top edges of theplates 8, 9, and also lying between, but above thecoil. 3, is the longwooden member 12 extending the full length of the coil, and secured ateach of its ends to the tank; the the vertical sides of the member beingflush with the cooling surfaces of the plates, which are secured inposition to said member, as by screws 15 The coil of pipe and thecooling plate are in contact so as to confine the intervenin water, toserve a medium, tending to equalize the distribution of the heat to thecooling plate during the process of harvesting, later to be described.

Cross cut devices 16, Figs; 1 and 4,-are at predetermined distancesapart, mounted at right angles to the cooling plates, as 8, 9, as bymetallic hooked members 17, engaging metallic sockets 18, located abovethe longi tudinal wooden member 12-. Each of these cross cut devices 16,Figs. 4, 5, 6, consists of a metallic can, made of thin material, andhaving its sides 19 grad! to- .fOr the can.

wards the bottom. 'lhese sides are secured to'the hooked member 17 whichforms a top A transverse partition 20 extends from the to of the cannearly to the bottom, and dividbs the can into two compartmentsconnected at the bottom. Open-' ing through the top 17 and into eachcomor emptying from, the can 16, water. above the temperature offreezing. Between these partment, is a hole 21, for introducing'intosockets 18, is a wooden member 22, secured to the top at the member 12,-to which the plates as 8,, 9, are fixed. It will be noticed that thetopsv of the cans 16, the socketmembers 18, and the wooden-member 22 areall in one plane, so that covers 23, Fig. 1, can be freely moved fromplace to place over the tank. Where there are two freezing plates, as 8,9, for each coil, as 3, above described, each plate is preferablysupplied with as many cross out devices 16, as Isdesirable. Preferablythey are mounted in pairs, as shown in Fig. 4, each socket member 18being adapted for such mounting. Where the coil, as 2, is adjacent toone side of the tank, or where only one cooling surface is desired for acoil, then the construction is substantially that shown in Fig. 4, afterone cooling plate, and its cooperating cans and sockets have beenremoved. A description of the exact construction involved seemsunnecessary, and is therefore omitted.

The cooling coils 2, 3, 4, 5, Fig. 1, have inlet ends 24, 25, 26, 27,and outlet ends 28, 29, 30, 31, which extends through the tank, insuitable packings; the inlet ends connecting with an inlet header 32,and the outlet ends connecting with an outlet header 33;

all of the inlet end portions being rovided with valves 34, 35, 36, 37,and allo the outlet ends with valves 38, 39, 40, 41. Access to thisinlet header 32 is controlled by a valve 42, while the outlet header 33is controlled by an outlet valve 43. A hot gas pipe 44, controlled by avalve 45, leads into a hot header 46, which in turn, is conncclm'lbybranch pipes 47, 48, 49, 50, to the inlet ends of the COIlS 2, 3, 4, 5,

between the tank and the inlet valves 34,

35, 36, 37, respectively. In these branch pipes are valves 51, 52, 53, Asimilar hot gas header 55 similarly connected with the outlet ends ofthe coils 2, 3, 4, 5, by branch pipes 56, 57, 58, 59,- having valves 60,61, 62, 63, therein. .This header 55 is connected to the hot gas inletpipe 44, by a pipe 65, having a valve 64 therein. For the purpose ofhaving auxiliary means for pumping out any one of the coilsindependently of the other coils, these hot gas headers 46, 55,arejconnected by a bend 66, in which are two valves 67, 68 and a pumpout pipe 69 connected to the bend between said valves 67 68. The coils2, 3, 4, 5, are located quently filled full permit the ammonia to atsuch a distance apart that when the cross cut devices 16, are inposition, there is an alleyway 70, Fig. 1, formed between the parallellines of cross cuts 16, for the flotation of free blocks of ice.

The refrigerant to be employed in the? operation of freezing is assumedto be anhydrous ammonia. It is supplied under pressure from a suitablecondenser, to the inlet header 32; andis withdrawn through the outletheader 33, connected by suitable connections as to the suction side of acompression machine. The hot gas is supplied to either one or both ofthe hot gas headers 46, 55, direct from the compression side as of acompressor, without first passing through a condenser. The pump out pipe69 is connected as to the suction side of-a compressor. As anyrefrigerating machine may beused, and further as they are wellunderstood and form no part of my invention, a description and anillustration of such a machine is .omitted.

is supplied from the' condenser to the inlet header 32. All of the inlet37, being open, all of the valves 51, 52, 53. 5 4, in the branch pipes47, 48', 49, 50, and all the outlet valves 38, 39, 40, 41, and valves60, 61, 62, 63, in branch pipes 56, 57, 58, 59, being closed, the coils2, 3, 4, 5, are conseof cold liquid ammonia under pressure. All theinlet valves 34, 35, 36, 37 are now closed, and the outlet valves 38,39, 40, 41, are opened slightly until the pressure in the coils 2, 3, 4,5, is reduced enough to begin to boil. Re- All the coils bevalves-34,35, 36,

igeration begins at once.

girl to absorb the heat from the surrounding water; the water betweenthe coils and the cooling przites, being cooled, absorbs the heat fromthe metal plates substantially uniformly, and the plate becomesuniformly cool, and cold and colder; and when the film of water incontact with the plate or plates,

falls-below the freezing point, it becomes 10c sumed to be starting themaking fixed to the plate. But as the cross cut de- 'ices16 are of thinmetal, are the best of heat conductors, and are in contact with theirres ective plates, as S, 9, thcv assume practical y the temperature ofthe plates.

ce consequently begins to form also upon the surfaces 19 of the crosscuts 16 contacting the plate. All of the coils are now asof ice: as,above stated, the pressure in each coil 3, 4, 5, being reduced asrequired, by the gradual flow of the, ammonia gas through the outletvalves 38, 39, 40, 41, and into the header 33. for any reason at thistime, it is necessary to sto using say, the side coil 2, be-

cause it has, or example, begun to leak, their this coil can be cut outof the freezing system,

are opened so that pump 'leading from the hot gas and the ammonia in theinjured 0011 may be recovered, as in the following manner. The inletvalve 34 and the outlet valve 38 are closed, the valves 60, 67, or 51,68, or all four out pi e 69 is in, open communicationwi the coi I 2, andthe suction side, as of a compression machine, not shown. When theammonia has by this means been recovered from the injured coil. 2, thenthe said valves are closed, and the coil, being free from ammonia, canbe repaired with safety. Meanwhile, ice has been form:

ing upon the remaining coils 3, 4, .5, say, to

the extent indicated upon coil 3, in Fig. 1.- If it happens to be of thethickness desired, then it can be harvested at once; while the iceforming upon coils 4 and 5, may, for example be allqwed to continuefreezing to obtain greater thickness.

To harvest the ice formed by the coil 3, the first step is to stoprefrigeration due to the vaporization of the ammonia in said coil.

' The inlet valve 35 and the outlet valve 39 are closed and the liquidis consequently con fined in the coil, at a back pressure; the liquidceases vaporizing, and hence to do refrigeration. It is then allowed tostand for about an hour to permit the ice to temper. The next step is todisengage the ice from the freezing surfaces. The outlet valve 39 isslightly opened, the hot gas under compression pressure is allowed toflow intothe coil and drive the liquid ammonia left in the coil, outoi'it and into the return main, from which it is recovered in any suitablemanner. The hot gas from the compressor, at a com pressor pressure,instead of being led to, and condensed in, its usual condenser,flowsdirectly into the coil 3, through the hot gas pipe 44, its valve4-5, through the hot gas header 46, and valve 52 in the branch pipe 48header to the coil 3 During the introduction of the hot the coillheoutlet valve 39 is opened just enough to permit the hot gas to til the.coil 3, and circulate thercthrongh; the hot gas under compressorpressure, raising the pressure in coil 3, and also the temperature abovefreezing point of the water. The surrounding water assumes the sametemperature, and the plates 3, 9, practically uniformly become to be offilms of ice attaching the blocks to the plates begin to melt. About thetime when the hot gas is introduced into the coil, hot water is gas intothe same temperature, and the of its plates .in the coil.

inventu &

Water,- as shown in the adjacent allevwa-v 70, between. coils 4 and 5.The iceciakes can then be floated to a spotconvenient to some hoistingdevice for delivering the ice in any suitable manner. The harvesting ofthis crop of ice formed by the coil 3 upon each 8, 9, is thus completed.

Now after the ice is freed, the hot gas i shut oil, and the coil remainsidle untilanother crop of-ice is desired; a certain. amount of liquid,that is, the condensed hot gas, lying To begin refrigeration, to makeanother crop of ice, the outlet valve 39 is slightly opened; thepressure in the coil becomes reduced to the running back pressureemployed; the cold liquid expands in the coil, vaporizes, and IBfIi''GIH-iZ-IOI] begins at once"; it beingunderstood that to continuerefrigeration, the inlet valve is opened enough to keep up the flow ofthe proper amount of liq uid into the coil. In fine, by means of my i,the liquid in acoil, after ithas il the ice from the plate, is ready toerat ion; and the liquid does not as formerly, have to be removed fromthe coil,

and a. .i'iewquantity of freezing liquid be inice crop. ,*lVe ,will nowassume that the ice formed by the coil 4, is of sufficient thickness andmust be harvested. The same operation takes places-s. did. in connectionwith harvesting Inlet valve 36 and. outtroduced into the coil, formaking the next the crop on coil 3. let valved are closed. througl'ivalve in pipe 49, leading from thehotgas header 46, to the coil 4; or asis sometimes advisable, the hot gas may be allowed to enter the top ofthe coilyi, as through pipe 65, header branch pipe 58 and valve 62.After the ice from coil ,4 has been harvested, it for any reason it isdesir- Hot-gas is let invested; that the able to recover the ammonia inthe coilf Without interiermg with the circulation of i ammonia to orfrom the other coils, say coil 5., then. it can be recovered through thepump out pipe 69 and either of the connecting hotv gas headers 46, 55,by closing valves 45, and by opening valves 62, (S7, or, I

header; a pump outpipe connected with and recover its ammonia, needs nofurther explanation. The methods employi-wl with the coils 3 and 4, andalready described,

may be repeated in connection with coil.5.

It will now be plain that each coil is absolutely independent oteachother C()ll-, -lll:1i i

any one or more can do refrigeration, can be pumped out, or can beharvested, While an' other is engaged in a different operation. Further,cross cuts, the plates and adjacent coil, the ice piece may be formedinto blocks' of convenient sizes, and quickly and. easily harsurfaces ofthe blocks in contact with the cooling plates and cross cuts are smoothand in one plane; and, in operation of harvesting, are not disfigured bythe unequal distribution of heat to the plates; and that theconstruction and the arrangement of the parts employed'in themanufacture of the ice, are simple, suitable and most convenient foruse.

To show the great utility of this invention,

will state that to harvest twentyeight' cakes of ice of five hundredpounds each by the block system requires two men about one hour and ahalf, while by my invention, one man harvests the same number of cakesof the same weight in about twenty-five minutes. 1

Desiring to protect my invention and the various features thereof in thebroadest manner legally possible, what' I claim iszl. A hollow cross outdevice, used in mak mg artificial ice, comprising a cam havingconverging ice forming surfaces; means for removably securing the saidcross cut device in contact with an ice forming plate of an ice machine;openings in the top portion of the can for the int-roduction'of a warmmedium into the can to melt off any film of ice contacting said surfacea partition dividing the interior ofthe can into two vertical clambersconnected at or near to the bottom of thecanf 2. In an ice machine, awater tank; two or more cooling coils therein; metallic platesadjacentto said coiis: an inlet header connected to said coils; anoutlet header connected to said coils; a hot gas header; branch pipesconnecting said hot gas header with said coils: nl' t valves to saidcoils;.

outet vaives to said coils, valves in said branch pipes, a valve tocontrol the hot gas said'hot gas header, and a' valve to control saidpump out pipe.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature i in presence of twowitnesses.

THOMAS H. RAY. \Vitnesses:

F. J. V. DAKTN, E, F. NLu'.

